Attachment for bits and bridles.



No. 334,843. Y T ATBNTBD oo T. "30;1906; T. B, ocoNNoR. 'A

- ATTACHMENT Toa. BITS AND BRIDLTS.

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110.834,843. PATBNTED 00T'. 30,1906.

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ATTACHMENT PoR BITS AND BRIDL ArPLIloA'rIoN FILED Nov. 2a. 190'4.

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lAUNITED sTATnsPATnNT onirica- TIMOTHY BEEHANE -ocoNNoa oF AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND.

ATTACHMENT FOR BITS AND BRIDLES.

Specificationof Letters Patent. Application filed November 28, 1904. Serial No. 234,643.

Patented Oct.` 30, 1906. l

" detection of foul riding by jockeys and other riders when participating in running, trotting, or pacing races, and, furthermore, is

adaptedfor detecting whether the horse has been pulled in ordinary riding.

Briefly described, the invention consists of combining with the bridle and bitthe attachment hereinafter more specifically described, such attachment adapted to register and indicate whether the horse is' being pulled at any part or stage in the race.

With the foregoing and other 'objects in view the invention consists of an attachment for the purpose set forth, which shall be simple in its construction, strong, durable, eHicient in its use, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and readily attached to the bit and bridle. 1

To this end the invention consists of the novel.. construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention but it is to be understood that changes, variations, and modifications can be resorted to which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended. f i

In describing the invention in detail reference is had tothe accompanying drawings,

4wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which- Figure' 1 is a side elevation of the bit-ring, showing the operating means and registering Fig. 2 is a like view showing the indicating element of the attachment. Fig. 3 shows the adaptation of the attachment to the bit and bridle.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a modification. Fig. 5 is a detail showing the preferred construction of pawl for actuating the recording-disk, and Fig. l6 is a detail showing a modified arrangement of indicating element.

'Referring to the drawings by reference I characters, A indicates the bit, to which is atf tached the bit-ring B in the ordinary way,

while the cheek-strap d of the bridle C is preferably attached to the bit-ring B through af curved slot E, though it may be attached to the bit-ring in the ordinary way. The reins are indicated. by the reference character F and are connected by a D-shaped link G, `which is swivelly mounted upon the outer vend of a spring-controlled operating-rod J. `The link G may be of any suitable form', but

preferably it is D-shaped in contour, and the :operating-rod J may be of any suitable shape in cross-section, so that it will not be permitted to turn. The rodJ at its outer end is headed, as at J', and against the said head is adapted to bear the ring G when the reins F are pulled. Secured to thebit-ring B is a collar KL acting as a bearing for the outer end of the rod J, and the latter extends .through the bit-ring B and through said collar K.

The inner end of the rod J. is screw-threaded, as at J 2, and upon the screw-.threaded end is mounted a pair of nuts L N, and between the said pair of nutsiis clamped an L-shaped shifting arm M, the longitudinally-extending `member P'thereof being provided with an offset which carries a marking medium S, preferably in the form of a piece of graphite, although any other suitable medium can be` employed. -Mountedupon the rod J and interposed between the nut L land the collar KV is a coiled extensible and contractible spring H, the function of said spring VH being to act as a cushion when the rod'J is pulled, so that the pull on the rod will be against the action of the spring, and said spring H is further adapted to return the rod J to normal position after the pull upon the rod J has been released. The L-shaped arm M is connected by the link O to a shifting lever a., the said link O being pivoted, as at Y, to the longitu- -dinally-extending member P of the arm L and at Z to the lower end of the shifting lever c. The pivot of the shifting lever a is indicated by the reference character a2. i pivot is connected to the cover-plate a-Bfor the bit-ring B, and the lever a is loosely `mounted upon said pivot.

A removable recording-disk T is arranged withinthe bit-ring B. The. said disk T revolves upon a central axis, (not shown,) owing to the fact that the graphite S covers the axis of the disk T. The periphery of the disk T -is formed with circumferentiallyextending teeth Uiof such shape that a push- IOO The

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pawl V, yieldingly connected to an enlargement a4 upon the lever a will engage the teeth U and cause the rotating of the disk when the lever a is shifted. One surface of the disk T is provided with circles W, six of which are shown, though the number thereof can be increased or decreased. These circles increase in diameter outwardly, and each is adapted to represent a certain number of pounds pulled on the reins F by the rider, and other indications arranged in relation to the circles, as at W, are-provided on the disk, so as to also represent the number of pounds weight each circle indicates when the graphite S is moved across the disk, owing to the pulling outwardly of the rod J, carrying the lever-arm M therewith, and causing the graphite to mark the disk in proportion to the pull on the reins F. To prevent the markings on the disk T running into each other, the said disk T is intermittently rotated through the action of the pawl V, engaging in the teeth U. When the pull is off the reins F or the reins are released by the driver, the graphite S is moved back to normal position-that is, to the center of the disk T-through the extending of the spring H, so that a fresh indication is always made by the graphite when the horse is pulled. To prevent back rotation of the disk T, pawl X is provided, which is adapted to engage in the teeth U of the disk T, and bearing against the pawl X is a spring X, which retains the pawl in contact with the teethU of the disk T.

The upper end of the shifting lever a is pivotally connected, as at b, to a straight rod c, running up the cheek-strap d, said rod being formed of rigid or flexible material, as desired, and the said rod c is of such length as to extend to about the unction of the forehead strap H. The continuation of the bridle C into the head-strap behind the ears of the animal is made of more iiexible material, to which the continuation, also more fiexible, of the rod c is connected and extends thereon to between andjust behind the ears of the horse to a cord or wire k, traveling over a pulley l, which is held firmly to the headstrap i, as at m. This cord or wire 7c, as shown in Fig. 2, is loosely connected, as at n, to a bar o, forming one side of a frame or fan r, which is fitted to a pin or spindle s, operating against the pull of the coiled spring s, said spring being connected at one end to the pin or spindle s and at the other end to the bearing t, for the said pin or spindle. An extra piece of leather or other suitable material, as at u, is attached to the head-strap i to form a strong pad, to which is fastened a bearing t and upon which the fan r is supported. From the foregoing construction it is evident that when the upper end of the shifting lever a moves downwardly the rod c will be carried therewith, consequently causing the opening of the fan, and that when the lever a is moved to normal position, owing to discontinuing the pull on the reins, the action of the spring s will cause the closing of the fan. The fan r is adapted to form a visible indication during any part of the race as to whether the horse is being pulled, for the reason that an observer noticing that the fan is open, or partly open, will readily understand that the horse is being pulled. If the horse is pulled and the fan opens and the )ull released, so that the fan will close, the dis i T will indicate after the race that the horse has been pulled, even though the observer during the race will not see the visible indication of pulling by the opening of the fan.

The fan fr is made collapsible and extensible, so that it can be opened completely or partly, say at an angle or closed down flat. The fan is provided with shaded or unshaded parts to represent different colors, which may be red, orange, blue, green, or any other color which may be preferred for the purpose to indicate the approximate strain on the reins F, during a race, caused by the pulling thereof by the rider.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the bit-ring is indicated by the reference character 1, the bit by the reference character 2 and the reins by the reference character` 3. The reins are connected to the link 4, which is swivelly mounted upon the spring-controlled rod 5, the latter having a head, as at 6, and operating in a slot 7, formed in the bitring. Connected to the bit-ring 1 is a coupling member 8, having an opening, as at 9, provided with a beveled wall, and tlnough the opening 9 extends a headed screw 10, having a portion of its shank tapering, as at 11, which is positioned in the opening 9, and clamped to the screw 10 by the nuts 12 13 is a slotted casing 14, which is mounted upon the rod 5. Clamped to the inner end of the rod 5 by the nuts 15 16 is a vertically-extending arm 17, which projects up through the slot in the casing 14 and has detachably connected, as at 18, to one end of a link 1f), the latter being pivotally connected, as at 2l), to the lower end of a shifting lever 21. The upper end of the lever 21 is pivotally connected, as at 22, to the lower end of the rod c, which extends up the cheek-strap d. rlhe upper end of the lever 21 has the depending member 23 connected thereto, which carries the marking medium 24 in the forni of graphite. The lever `21 is the equivalent of the lever e and is provided with an enlargement a, carrying the push-pawl V, which engages the teeth U of the recording-disk T. The pawl X is provided, against which bears the spring X, said pawl X being adapted te engage the teeth U, so as to prevent back rotation of the disk T. Mounted upon the rod 5 and bearing at one end against the nut 16 and at its other end against the end 14 of the casing 14 is an extensible and contracti- TOO TIO

i ble spring 25, ithe, function of .which is the same as the function of the spring I-I. The circlesA upon the recording-disk T are indicated by thereference character W3 and they indications bythe reference character W4.

: The lever a is pivoted intermediate its ends, as

evident from the foregoing description thatv when the rod 5 is pulled outwardly the lever a will rock upon its pivot and cause the graphite 24 to mark the disk T and that the pawl V will cause the rotation ofthe disk T, so that the markings will be pl-aced at different points upon the disk when ythe lever a is rocked in one direction to cause the lowering of the rod c, consequentlT operating the an r.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings is shown the pawl V, which consists of a piece of elastic material secured to the enlargement d4 by the screw a5, a keeper a being provided to pre-y vent the pawl V. from springing too great al distance from the enlargement a4.. The pawl V is shown as in engagement with one of the teeth U of the disk T.

In. 6 a rosette 26 is shown mounted upon a spring-controlled spindle 27, carried by the c eek-strap d. One side of the rosette is attached to a flexible connection 28. This flexible connection is secured to the upper end of the lever a, so that when the lever a. is lowered the rosette 26 will be opened. When the lever a is elevated, the action of the spring 29 will tend to close the rosette. The rosette is the equivalent of the fan and is used for the same purpose.

In the structure shown in Fig. 4 the lin 19 can be detached from the element 16 and the lever a removed, and consequently no registering of a pull will be had; but as the spring 24 remains in position it will cause the prevention of jerks and sudden pulls upon the horses mouth. This function is evident, owing-to the interpositionv of the spring 24 in the manner as shown, which acts as a cushion.

The cheek-strap d is covered over and recessed beneath the cover to position the rod c. The slot E is only shown in Figs. 1 and 3 as about half-way down to the collar K, but can be carried down farther and nearly to the collar K, so as to allow the cheek-strap d and reins F to come close together, as is usually the case in fast riding or racing.

The bit-ring B is provided with a pair of covers, so as to prevent the mechanismmounted therein from being tampered with, and also to keep dust and dirt from the parts. When the disk T has beenfully marked or it is desired for any purpose to' use a fresh disk, the one alreadyused can be removed and a fresh disk substituted, for example, when another race is going to be run and it is requiredv that the disk used .be keptfor future reference.

The rosette 26 is colored in the same manner as the fan, so that each color will indicate) different pressures or pulls.v l Y I claimil 1. In a device of the class described, a bit-V ring, -a rotatable disk within said' ring and lhaving at its 4periphery ratchet-teeth, a

marker operative upon said disk, a tension device connected with the rein of the bridle and the marker adapted, when actuated in one direction, to move the markerand to rotate the disk when moved in the opposite direction for recording the pull on the bridlere1n.

2. In combination, a bridle, a bit-ring, a rotatable disk having ratchet-teeth at the periphery thereof, a marker' mechanism engaging the ratchet teethon the disk for operating the latter, and a tension-controlled device operative by the pull on the bridle-rein for actuating said mechanism for recording the number of pulls on the said bridle-rein. p

3. In combination a bridle, a bit-ring, a rotatable disk having ratchet-teeth at the periphery thereof, a marker movable throughout the body. of said disk, means for rotating the disk and coperati've with said marker, a yieldable device connected to the rein of the bridle and said means for operating the latter to record the number of pulls on the bridlerein, and an indicating device connected to said means and operated upon by the yielding device.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a bit-ring, of a rotatable disk arranged within the ring, a marker operating u on said disk, and a tension device connecte with the reins of the bridle and with the marker and adapted when actuated in one direction to move the marker and to rotate the disk.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a bit-ring, of a revoluble disk 'mounted within the said ring, a marker IOO lIO

movable over one face of said disk, a shiftable element coperating. with the Y marker for causin the travel of the latter and rotating the disIt, and a yieldable device connected to the reins of the bridle and to said means for operating the latter when the reins are pulled.

7. In an attachment for bridles and bits,

the combination with a bit-ring, of a rotatable disk having ratchet-teeth at the periphery thereof, said disk mounted in said ring, a marker mechanism engaging the ratchetteeth on the disk for operating the latter and traveling over one face of the disk for recording7 a tension-controlled device operated by the pull on the bridle-reins for throwing said marker mechanism into operation7 and an indicating device connected to said mechanism and operated thereby.

8. In an attachment for bridles and bits, a recording mechanismcarried by the bit-ring and operated by a pull on the bridle-reins,

Aand an indicating device connected With and operated by said recording mechanism.

9. An attachment for bridlcs and bits for the purpose set forth, comprising a recording mechanism carried by the bit-ring, a tension- Vcontrolled device for operating said recording mechanism When the bridle-reins are pulled, and an indicating device connected with and operated by said recording mechanism.

TIMOTHY BEEHANE OCONNOR.

Witnesses:

GEORGE WILLIAM BASLEY, HILDA MAY FROUDE. 

